Spoiler-free film reviews from film studies graduate Joe Richards

Non-Stop: Review

During a transatlantic flight from New York to London, Air Marshall Bill Marks receives texts from an unknown source threatening to kill a passenger every twenty minutes unless $150 million is transferred into a specified bank account.

It’s the sort of high concept idea which could have been awful in the wrong hands but thankfully works well here. It has a tone reminiscent of films from the 90’s; Executive Decision, Air Force One, Passenger 57, all of which I’ve enjoyed to some degree and Non-Stop is no exception.

From the trailers I was expecting this to be a very silly movie and of course there are plenty of questionable moments (it’s exhilarating conclusion being the main example) but it’s actually a very successful thriller with some clever twists too.

There’s a surprising amount of tension from beginning to end, playing on our post 9/11 fears of air travel where everybody is suspect and a potential threat, with one of the films main draws being the picking apart of the mystery and trying to figure out the culprit.

Liam Neeson does what Liam Neeson does best, playing the gravely voiced badass seeking some form of redemption and I loved every minute of his performance. At 61 he’s clearly relishing this part of his career, proving impressive in both the action sequences and more talky stuff. I would gladly watch him in other films like this; perhaps Non-Stop 2: Non-Stopped with Neeson fighting terrorists on a cruise liner, train and so on.

Coming out of award season, Non-Stop is unashamedly trying to do nothing more than entertain and it’s very successful in that respect. It managed to hold my attention all the way through with some interesting visuals, a brilliant Liam Neeson and some excellent action sequences. If you’re looking for a fun time at the cinema this weekend you can’t go far wrong with this.